Cnemaspis lagang, Nashriq & Davis & Bauer & Das, 2022

Nashriq, Izneil, Davis, Hayden R., Bauer, Aaron M. & Das, Indraneil, 2022, Three New Species of Cnemaspis (Sauria: Gekkonidae) from Sarawak, East Malaysia, Borneo, Zootaxa 5120 (1), pp. 1-29 : 5-10

Cnemaspis lagang sp. nov.

North Sarawak Day Gecko; Cicak Gua Mulu

Fig. 2 , Fig. 3 , Table 1

Holotype. Adult male, UNIMAS 9562 , collected by Izneil Nashriq on 10 February 2020 at 22:45 hrs, from the base of Gunung Api (4.13608°N, 114.891304°E; 90 m), Gunung Mulu National Park , Miri District, Sarawak, East Malaysia (Borneo).

Paratype. Adult male, UNIMAS 9591 , collected by Hayden Davis and Izneil Nashriq, on 22 July 2017 at 22:00 hrs, from Lagang Cave (4.050144°N, 114.824199°E; 100 m), Gunung Mulu National Park , Miri District, Sarawak, East Malaysia (Borneo) .

Diagnosis. SVL up to 46 mm; 13–14 supralabials; 10–11 infralabials; 3 internasals; 9–10 postmentals; adult males with 7–8 discontinuous pore-bearing, precloacal scales with round pores, arranged in a chevron, separated at midline by 2–4 poreless scales; paravertebral and lateral row of caudal tubercles present; ventrolateral caudal tubercles absent; caudal tubercles not encircling tail; subcaudals keeled, not bearing row of enlarged median subcaudal scales; 1–2/1–2 (L/R) postcloacal tubercles on each side of tail base; no enlarged femoral or subtibial scales; submetatarsal scales of first toe enlarged; 29 subdigital fourth toe lamellae; faint Dusky Brown and Trogon Yellow caudal bands anteriorly; tail immaculate posteriorly; and regenerated tail also immaculate.

Description of holotype. Male with original tail, immaculate posteriorly; supralabials 13/14 (L/R); infralabials 11/11 (L/R); snout-vent length 46 mm; head short (HL/SVL 0.29), narrow (HW/SVL 0.28), depressed (HD/HL 0.33), distinct from neck; snout long (ES/HW 0.63), much longer than eye diameter (ED/ES 0.55); scales on snout and forehead tuberculate, with posterior portion of each scale raised; scales on snout larger than those on occipital region; eye small (ED/HL 0.23); orbits of eyes with extra-brillar fringes; pupil round; enlarged supraciliaries on top half of orbit; tympanum deep, oval shaped, greatest diameter vertically, narrow (EL/HL 0.10); eye to ear distance greater than diameter of eyes (EE/ED 1.28); rostral half as deep as wide, contacted posteriorly by 2 nasals and 3 internasals, and rostrals in contact with supralabial I. Nostrils oval, situated within nasals, and oriented dorsally; nostrils not in contact with supralabial I. 7 postnasals bound nasal; mental ovate, much deeper than wide, 9 postmentals border mental; chin scales meet infralabials.

Body slender, short (AG/SVL 0.43); ventral scales keeled, increase in size from chin region to gular, pectoral and abdominal regions. Dorsal scales increase in size from head to nape and body. Scales on dorsum at midbody approximately equal to those of venter at same level; vertebral scales not reduced; no paravertebral rows of tubercles on dorsum; pectoral and abdominal scales distinctly elongated, imbricate and unicarinate; discontinuous rows of 4/4 (L/R), pore-bearing, precloacal scales with round pores, arranged in a chevron, separated at midline by 4 poreless scales, in adult males; no femoral pores; no preanal groove.

Forelimbs relatively long, slender, shorter than hindlimbs (FL/SVL 0.19, TBL/SVL 0.22). Dorsal scales on forelimbs, raised, unicarinate, juxtaposed, reduced in size posteriorly; ventral scales of forelimbs slightly raised, slightly unicarinate, juxtaposed, reduced in size posteriorly. Dorsal scales of hindlimbs raised, unicarinate, juxtaposed, reduced in size posteriorly; ventral scales of hindlimbs slightly raised, slightly unicarinate, juxtaposed, reduced in size posteriorly. Palmar and plantar scales smooth, granular, raised. Digits elongate, all bearing claws that are slightly recurved; subdigital scansors entire, except for 1–2 fragmented at base of digits, unnotched; an enlarge scansor towards base of digits, which is over twice width of other scansors; interdigital webbing absent. Subdigital lamellae (manus) I (13); II (21); III (23); IV (27); V (21); (pes) I (11); II (19); III (23); IV (29); V (24).

Original tail longer than snout-vent length (TL/SVL 1.33); tail base distinctly swollen; tail arranged in segmented whorls; caudal tubercles keeled, arranged in paravertebral and lateral rows; caudal tubercles do not encircle tail at each whorl; 1/1 (L/R) postcloacal tubercles; tail with distinct pair of furrows laterally; subcaudal scales unicarinate and no enlarged median subcaudals.

Variation in paratype. Male with a regenerated tail; SVL 46 mm; supralabials 14/14 (L/ R); infralabials 10/10 (L/ R); head short (HL/ SVL 0.29), narrow (HW/ SVL 0.18), depressed (HD/HL 0.38), distinct from neck; snout long (ES/ HW 0.72), longer than eye diameter (ED/ ES 0.46); eye small (ED/HL 0.21); tympanum deep, oval shaped, greatest diameter vertically, narrow (EL/HL 0.08); eye to ear distance greater than diameter of eyes (EE/ ED 1.45 ); mental bell-shaped, much deeper than wide, 10 postmentals border mental. Body slender, short (AG/ SVL 0.42); discontinuous rows of 3/4 (L/ R), pore-bearing, precloacal scales with round pores, arranged in a chevron, separated at midline by 4 poreless scales; no femoral pores; no precloacal groove. Forelimbs moderately long, slender shorter than hindlimbs (FL/ SVL 0.20, TBL/ SVL 0.24). Subdigital lamellae (manus) I (14); II (19); III (24); IV (25); V (22); (pes) I (13); II (19); III (23); IV (29); V (24). Regenerated tail shorter than snout-vent length (TL/ SVL 0.53). 1/2 (L/ R) postcloacal tubercles; Tail with distinct pair of furrows laterally. Subcaudal scales unicarinate .

Skeletal notes. Both specimens (UNIMAS 9591 and UNIMAS 9562) have 25 presacral and 2 sacral vertebrae. The low presacral count is uncommon in geckos in general (26 is typical; Hoffstetter and Gasc, 1969). The phalangeal formulae are plesiomorphic for geckos: 2–3–4–5–3 manus and 2–3–4–5–4 pes. Both specimens are skeletally mature, showing fusion of the long bone epiphyses.

Colouration in life. Holotype; Raw Umber head, Venetian Blue shade interorbitally and around postorbital; ventral surface of head Raw Umber with Pratt’s Payne’s Gray spots; body and limbs Trogon Yellow; ground colour of nape and shoulder region Olive-Brown bearing Dusky Brown lines from orbit; a pair of medium, amorphous, Dusky Brown spots in shoulder region; Sulfur Yellow flecks on flank, forelimbs and hind limbs; small, scattered, Dusky Brown spots between limb insertion; rows of Dusky brown lines along vertebral column; proximal half of tail Trogon Yellow bearing faint, Dusky Brown bands; ventral surfaces Cinnamon with Verona Brown except for tail which is Trogon Yellow and posterior tail immaculate.

Paratype; Dorsal ground colour of head, body and limbs dark Brownish Olive; head bearing small, occipital flecks; ground colour of nape and shoulder region Olive-Brown bearing paravertebral patches of irregularly shaped, dark blotches; transverse, Sulfur Yellow flecks between forelimb and hind limb insertions; anterior one-half of tail Brownish Olive bearing faint, dark bands; all ventral surfaces Dark Grey except for tail which is Buff Yellow; regenerated tail Buff Yellow with whitish tip.

Etymology. The epithet lagang is a noun in apposition derived from the paratype locality of Lagang Cave, within Gunung Mulu National Park.

Natural history. The species is nocturnal and was collected between 2000 and 2300 hrs, below 100 m asl of Melinau Limestone formation to which the species is apparently restricted ( Figure 4 ). Ambient temperature was 26°C, and relative humidity 89.9% RH under clear night skies at the time of collection. The holotype was encountered perching head-down on a stalactite at the base of Gunung Api, while the paratype was on the entrance wall of Lagang Cave. They occur sympatrically with Cyrtodactylus consobrinus , C. miriensis and C. muluensis but only syntopically with the last of these.

Comparisons. Cnemaspis lagang sp. nov. differs from other Bornean Cnemaspis by having Raw Umber head with Venetian Blue shade on interorbital region; 13–14 supralabials (versus 11–13 in C. leucura and 12–13 in C. sirehensis sp. nov.); 9–10 postmentals (versus 3 in C. kendallii , 5–7 in C. nigridia , 6–9 in C. paripari , 4–6 in C. leucura , 5–9 in C. matahari sp. nov., and 6–7 in C. sirehensis sp. nov.); discontinuous rows of 7–8, pore-bearing, precloacal scales (versus none in C. kendallii , 5–6 in C. dringi , and 14–15 in C. nigridia ,); 1–2/1–2 (L/R) postcloacal tubercles (versus 2–3/ 2–3 in C. kendallii , 2–3/ 2–3 in C. paripari , 3–8/ 3–8 in C. leucura and 2–7/ 2–7 in C. matahari sp. nov.); ventrolateral caudal tubercles absent (versus present in C. kendallii , C. nigridia , C. paripari , C. leucura and C. matahari sp. nov.); keeled subcaudals versus smooth in C. nigridia ; no enlarged median subcaudal scales; tail with Faint Dusky Brown and Trogon Yellow caudal bands anteriorly and immaculate posteriorly (versus Dusky Brown and Buff-Yellow caudal bands in C. kendallii, Dusky Brown and Orange Yellow caudal bands in C. nigridia , Pratt’s Payne’s Gray anteriorly and immaculate posteriorly in C. paripari, faint Dusky Brown and Lavender caudal bands anteriorly, immaculate posteriorly in C. matahari sp. nov., and Brownish Olive and Sulfur Yellow caudal bands in C. sirehensis sp. nov.); 25–27 subdigital fourth finger lamellae (versus 29 in C. dringi and 26–31 in C. matahari sp. nov.).

Figures

FIGURE 2: (A) Cnemaspis lagang sp. nov., holotype, UNIMAS 9562, SVL 46 mm, adult male from Gunung Api, within Gunung Mulu National Park, Miri Division, Sarawak; (B) type series displaying dorsal side of the body (from left to right: UNIMAS 9562 and UNIMAS 9591).

FIGURE 3: Ventral view of Cnemaspis lagang sp. nov. type series (from left to right: UNIMAS 9562 and UNIMAS 9591); Close up of body parts (A) Postmental, (B) Cloaca, (C) Subcaudal, (D) Manus and (E) Pes.

FIGURE 4: Habitat (A) and microhabitat (B) of Cnemaspis lagang sp. nov. in Gunung Mulu National Park, Miri, Sarawak; (C) egg shells found in the habitat.